Clamps

So I have searched but I am not coming up with an answer. Should cover strip corners be straight, cut at 45degree angles or slightly rounded? I have seen all three and would like to confirm which is most SA. I also looked at the LFL photos on photobucket and the shape seems to vary there too Thoughts? Thanks CB

Get those Centurion photos in STAT. Then you can stop tweaking your kit and help me get mine straightened up for a September membership/EIB!

I put a washer on mine, used the screw driver shaft to get ample separation, then used a small hammer to lightly tap the legs flat. Finally I used white duct tape to cover the legs. For my snap plate, I put it just behind the rivet as I could not figure how to best bend the legs securely within the male snap piece. Liking the idea of the elastic directly under the washer like Locitus mentions though...hindsight...

today's first round of items ticked off the to do list. Nothing really photo worthy, so we'll skip that for now. Second Shim looks pretty solid, again using Gaffe tape re-enforcement. Drilled holes for split rivets on the left side shim Attached "snap plates" on the kidney that will be used to connect the ab Glued second half of the forearms minor resin blaster work (drill out the blobby muzzle bolts and the resin bolt in the Later tonight, the shin re-alignment attempt....

I plan to reach out to Mark once I determine how things will work out...and thank you for being nice

Sven, you are trying soo hard in every thread to be nice after all the crazy debates recently. I am going to always be open to feedback and opinions from all members, so you can be honest with me any time. Once my threads get taken over with debates though, I will ask for folks to take it outside I agree that I want a nice no wobbly fit, but I also don;t want it denting the bone from being too tight around the knee, I will play around with it to find a compromise. My bigger issue is I have no spare ABS to make a bigger covers trip, so I am going to see what I can do with the 20mm one for the front and 25mm one I have in the back and just live with a bit more of a ridge. Super excited to get the pieces all to a stage where I can put them all on to determine what adjustments will be needed across the board! c

Thanks, I will have a look tonight to see what I can do. The issue I have is spare ABS, my trimmed kit came with cover strips already cut and I only have enought spare to make my side shims, so I don't have material to do a 1.25" cover strip for the rear. I will losen up the front by a few more mm and see how that plays out around the backside.

Thanks Vern, I will be sure to line them up top down, the real issue is my 40cm soccer calves. I see your comment on the shin thread I posted and I will see how that works out when I am home tonight.

heheh found a good deal on a second bag a few weeks back, like $10 for 20 assorted sizes!! whoohooo

I feel your soccer pain dude. Dealing with soccer calves issue with my shins. Just posted a thread about it last night. Check near the end of my build thread, Vern posted advice on how to prep the shin in an ideal situation. Also my TK-pork belly is causing me to shim the kidney-ab connection. Good luck!

For reference, I am working with an AP kit that came to me PRE-trimmed. I am on to the shin part of my build. I measured and marked the fronts so that I had a nice fit for my 20mm cover strips (10mm per side). I then align the marks and tape it off. here shows a sample cover strip over the area. When I put the shin on to check how much to remove from the back to make a nice 25mm cover strip for the velcro attachment I quickly realize that I have no room to trim. The fit is quite tight with my boots. Here you can see that the front is very tight against my leg, zero gap. if digs into the bone. If I add space to the front I will require a very large cover strip that will not match up with the thighs. OR I could live a larger than desirable ridge on the shin fronts. I want this built to to come together to be EIB and Centurion worthy, so I am looking for your advice on how best to proceed.

Biceps getting glued tonight, 1-side of forearms gluing For Sale sign shim support seems to be much better than the ABS strip, though its quite flexible. I will reenforce with Gaffe tape for now to see how it holds up. I like the flex though as it will help conform to my body shape. I hope it holds. I have some shin issues. Gonna post a separate thread about this....

I look forward to seeing the results in person!

Yup, I went with the black gaffe tape as it is stronger, rips cleaner and comes off with less residue. but yeah, tape is definitely gonna help make this work. My longer term concern for strapping is the stress on this area. I think I will add my snaps to the kidney and not the shim. it's only an extra inch or so and will move the stress point to the larger item.

Congrats oh receiving the "Brown Box" Josh. I got my box of AP trimmed box two weeks ago, been a slow process as life has a way of getting in the way of an armour build. Good luck. I'll grab some popcorn while I watch your build.

Ugh. A bit of a setback. My shim gluing did not work out. Not sure if it was a lack of glue or the backing strip not conforming well. the kidney shape is contoured and the shim is straight so perhaps that was an issue. I ripped both sides out and just redid one side. I used nice strong Gaffe tape on the outside to set position and used for sale sign 1" wide for backing. It's much thinner than the ABS strip and as such conforms to the shape easier. Other progress: Glued backing strips (for sale signs) to 1/2 of the biceps and forearms. Measured and taped thighs Measured front of shins Cut 25mm cover strips for shin rear. Tonight hopefully I'll get the other shim attached, biceps and forearms closed then trim thighs maybe shins if time allows.

Great question Philip, I was just logging into search for the spring diameter myself. I'll be looking here to see what you get for replies!

damn I need to get a job where I can build my kit at the same time! So much lost productivity at work reading and researching. Good luck Keith, I expect a full report so you can come show me exactly what to do on the first try. We're about a week, maybe two away from this step. perhaps you can come over on the long weekend for a few beers and TK tweaks. I'll even have a supply of Jelly Belly beans to keep your right.

Spent most of the weekend at Fan Expo, so little progress has been made, but gained some SERIOUS motivation for completion. Last night's work (no photos as this is not really interesting stuff to see): re-worked the butt-kidney connection at add a little length the the connection. attached my shims (hoping the seam comes out nice). Initial trimming of both biceps Gluing of elastic on shoulder bell that goes around bicep (I only glued one side for now pending final bicep sizing. Immediate next steps list: Add final snap plates for torso now that shims are in place Add Split Rivets to the shimmed area to provide the balance to the ab plate Get some for sale signs for interior support gluing if the limbs Glue the biceps Glue the forearms together

Looks like it'll be about 1 1/8" shims per side. Will attach to kidney this weekend if time allows. Otherwise, test fit of the core is pretty good. I need to tighten crotch connection and loosen the kidney butt connection as it keeps popping out and then pulling my middle snap off. Anywho. Tomorrow and Sunday are break days as I'll be at Fan Expo volunteering with the Canadian Garrison peeps.

I think I found a happy place for Fan 1 that is a good compromise of nose/eye. I also taped in my mic last night for a little audio testing. Did some more 'snap plate' gluing to the core. I should be ready tonight to test how much shim I need on the sides so I can get that cut and glued. Then I can turn the focus to the limbs. It's slow going as I only have an hour or two a night.

Added split rivets to Ab plate. Initial placement of shoulder strap with white elastic connecting chest and back. And mini elastic on holding things down. Finally I added some 'snap plates' to butt and kidney sections. I tries a few different fan locations in the bucket but not happy yet with that. Either it blocks my ability to put in on or blows up my nose or directly into my eye.

Slow progress the last few days. Been camping and away on business. Latest updates: Made "snap plates from nylon webbing material. I like this option as they conform nicely to the interior contours of the armour. Here they are being glued to the shoulder bells, chest and backplates. Added the split rivet to the crotch. I could not work out in my mind how to use this rivet to secure a male snap. The rivet legs are quite long compared to the normal snap post. So I added a snap plate just behind instead, covering the legs with white duct tape. Next steps are to affix snap plates to butt, kidney and ab sections. And to add fan(s) to the bucket.

Thanks Vern. I'll hold off for a couple weeks then